Google is bringing its Chrome OS interface to Windows 8

SOFTWARE DEVELOPER Google has been working on a Windows 8 app that will run its Chome web browser the same way it does in the Chrome operating system (OS).

The updates have been spotted in the code of the internet giant's new Dev Channel version of its Chrome web browser, which includes mimicking the Chrome OS interface within the Windows 8 start screen with the same app tray and multi-window system, behaving in the same way as on Google's desktop OS instead of running on the Windows desktop as a program or Metro app.

The new version of the Chrome web browser isn't available for end users yet, and we don't know when it will be. We contacted Google for more information about the app update, but the firm didn't say anything beyond the usual statement that it doesn't comment on rumour and speculation.

The features in the developer channel update aren't guaranteed to reach the final build. But the news, if true, implies a reaction to users not taking to Windows 8, and might also reflect slow uptake of Chrome OS.

Google turned 15 years old last month, and to celebrate the firm introduced features including an advanced search ranking system called Hummingbird. Hummingbird is an expansion to Google's Knowledge Graph search technology that was introduced last year as a way to help provide direct answers in search results and provide answers to questions that require more complex results. µ